..."and a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness; evil minded people shall not travel on it, but it shall be for those wayfarers who are traveling toward God. (Isaiah 35:8, adapted)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

"And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north." (Jeremiah 1:13)

As followers of Jesus it is really not our placeto be caught up in politics. Ours is a heavenlycountry in a place called the Kingdom of God. As much as we can we should be good citizens, but we owe our final allegiance to God.

Politics, to me, is odious. I think Jesusthought so, too. But I write about this upcoming election because it really is a historic election. It is not about Democrats and Republicans and their differences--if you camp there you fail to see the point. It's about weltanschauung and zeitgeist.

Say what?

Weltanschauung is the German termfor "world view" and "zeitgeist" isa German term meaning "the spirit of the age." Every so often things reach a stage ofcritical change. Kingdoms rise and fall.In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar has avision of the kingdoms of this world risingand falling, his included. They give way tothe glorious kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ! His Kingdom comes and smashesall lesser ones others to pieces. A "Stone not cut from hand" comes out of the mountain and breaks all the other kingdoms. Daniel said, "the dream is certainand its interpretation sure" (Daniel 2:45).The plan and purpose of God are indestructibleand imperishable.

In this election much has been paradedforth about the need for change. Indeed!But what we have here is change in itsmost elemental form: we have a clashof "weltenschauung" and a looming fluctuation in the "zeitgeist."

This election is not just about policychanges, it is about conflicting worldviews. It is not about this policy on one hand, and that one on the other, but a change in zeitgeist, the very spirit of the age. It is scarily obvious that people, our "good' American people, are changing what they think and what they value. It is not about Republicans deciding to be Democrats, please look underneath and beyond that, but an entirechange in what we see as important: how thingsshould be, what truth is.

Decades of unbiblical and twisted thinkinghave lead to this: God letting us chooseour king and have it our way. We get whatwe choose. That is scary. What is scarieris that in thinking we are choosing theright thing we can be choosing the tools ofour own destruction. We can think we stand for truth, and change, and actually be standing for a lie more deadly than we canimagine.

I am not writing this article because Iam a Republican or a Democrat. My allegiancedoes not lay along political lines. McCain, too, has issues, and he is a dinosaur: heis an emblem of the spirit of the previous agein America. Somehow, that may only be a half-bad thing. Probably even dinosaurs wentextinct somehow because of the sin of man.In our seeking to get away from that imperfecttenor of spirit we turn too quickly to whatappears to be another spirit and failto see the implications. New Song, next verse, same tune, worse trouble.

We choose our man and our man chews us.We get our man and our man gets us. This will all unfold in a far worse wayin the already at hand, and not tofuture, end-times. The Antichrist is thespirit of man. 666.

Is Barack Obama the Antichrist? That'squite a bit for politics to lay on any man!No, according to Scripture, he was not born in the right country to qualify for that job! In most ways he is probably an ordinary person, notnecessarily or consciously disposed to evil, but simply a post-modern man influencedby his spiritual and political milieu, perhapsmore easily influenced then he knows. God helphim!

He is not the Antichrist, but, and I saythis without animosity of any sort, he is probably like what the Antichrist will startoff as. His words reveal him to have a world view that we have not yet seen in an American president, but they are timedwith a change in the "spirit of the age" that is ready to accept what hestands for. And he most definitely standsfor change. But change of what kind?

Many think that is a good thing. But many, even Israel, will think that the Antichrist to come is "a good thing"--a thing of peace and safety until the real story suddenly andviolently emerges. God wants to rule us in truepeace and safety but we will not have it.He allows us to choose our king and wechoose that king based on what we value.A scarier thought I cannot imagine.

I fear that we are not seeing throughthe issues to the Issue. America is changing.It has been changing. It has changed. Its been years of sometimes hidden, sometimes blatant change. We can name all the old, well-worn issues: abortion, prayer in schools, religious freedom, sexual issues etc. but even those are indicative of people who were already not seeing clearly. Perhaps our time is up, perhaps our season is finished. If not now, sometime.

America labels herself as a "melting pot" where everyone can be who they want to be. The problem is: that is not possible! Guess what? Conflicting ideologies conflict.And guess what? Christianity makes someclaims that are exclusive and will not allow other ideas to be melted into it. So do other ideologies. Youknow what I mean.

So we are really going to be meltingpot, just as the prophet Jeremiah saw (Jeremiah 1:13) or really, it looks to be, a melted pot. The "spirit of the age"is about to change and it will notbe the change born of the Spirit of God.If you are a Democrat and are readingthis, I am not attacking Barack Obama.I am just saying that the issues arebigger than they seem. Obama, likeany of us, is somewhat a product ofthe "spirit of the age" that he grewup in. He is just being what he wasmade to be. All of us will, withoutChrist, be just what the world and its spirit makes us to be. And we know who rules this present world! Unless we are overtaken by another Spirit: the Holy Spirit, we are merely pawns of the devil's plan.

The Holy Spirit only campaigns for Christ.And Christ is not American. Or Republican.Or Democratic. The Spirit of Christ'sticket is one of holiness, and humility,and Truth. It levels us all under the Crossof Jesus! The scriptures tell us,"Be not deceived, whatever a mansows, that is what he shall reap" (Gal 6:7). We are set to reap the seedsof decades upon decade of our choicesbuilt on top of each other. This is notabout one man, but about a nation and why itchooses what it chooses. It appears to be too late. I pray it is not.

To citizens of God's Kingdom, residingin these Untied States, take heart, take courage, and stand in your place living and speaking for Christ and Christ alone.You can change more lives than a posseof politicians.

Monday, October 27, 2008

When we understand the outside of things, we think we have them. Yet the Lord puts his things in subdefined, suggestive shapes, yielding no satisfactory meaning to the mere intellect, but unfolding themselves to the conscience and heart. -- George MacDonald

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it , but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:12

The enemy of our souls has very cleverly manipulated us all by many tricks, and deceptions, that have substituted the gospel for another gospel. The context of this verse is quite plain. Paul is actually quite aggressive here. The Churches in Galatia were being infiltrated by another gospel. So alarming is this to Paul that he cries out in the 8th and 9th verse that the individuals responsible for this outrage to be accursed. They had denied the relevance of the gospel, to him the gospel had now been made irrelevant.

It was a simple error. When things go wrong it is not a big thing at first, seemingly, but really it is. Verse 6 says “I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you unto the grace of Christ into another gospel.” The gospel to Paul was Jesus. Everything about it was Him and Him alone. In fact, he goes on to say in the verse we are looking at, that he received the gospel by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Revelation means unveiling. Jesus was unveiled to Paul and at that moment he claims the gospel was his. How marvelous. Knowing who Jesus is was the key to all his preaching and ministry. Paul claimed to the Corinthians, in the first epistle, ninth chapter, verse 1, in defending his apostleship of them, “Have I not see the Lord?”

We know on the Damascus Road that Jesus spoke to him. He was blinded by the incident, but three days later a disciple named Ananias is commanded by God to go and pray for him to receive his sight. He does and Paul receives his sight, inwardly and outwardly.

The voice of Jesus alone was not enough. He had to have Jesus revealed within him. Many are saved, but still have had no revelation of Jesus. Could this be the answer to so much lack of power in our lives? Jesus reveal Yourself to our hearts today. Amen.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

"She went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot; for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.” Gen. 21:16

Brethren, the whole ruin and current, and tenour and spirit of the gospel influences us to compassion.

Ye are debtors, for what were ye if compassion had not come to your rescue?

Divine compassion, all undeserved and free, has redeemed you from your vain conversation. Surely those who receive mercy should show mercy; those who owe all they have to the pity of God, should not be pitiless to their brethren.

The Savior never for a moment tolerates the self-righteous isolation which would make you despise the prodigal, and cavil at his restoration, much less the Cainite spirit which cries, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

No doctrine is rightly received by you if it freezes the genial current of your Christian compassion. You may know the truth of the doctrine, but you do not know the doctrine in truth if it makes you gaze on the wrath to come without emotions of pity for immortal souls.

You shall find everywhere throughout the gospel that it rings of brotherly love, tender mercy, and weeping pity. If you have indeed received it in its power, the love of Christ will melt your spirit to compassion for those who are despising Christ, and sealing their own destruction.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

He is in himself, in his holy Trinity, nothing else but the boundless abyss of all that is good, and sweet, and amiable, and therefore stands in the utmost contrariety to everything that is not a blessing, in an eternal impossibility of willing and intending a moment's pain or hurt to any creature.

For from this unbounded source of goodness and perfection, nothing but infinite streams of blessing are perpetually flowing forth upon all nature and creature, in a more incessant plenty, than rays of light stream from the sun. And as the sun has but one nature, and can give forth nothing but the blessings of light, so the holy Triune God has but one nature and intent towards all the creation, which is, to pour forth the riches and sweetness of his divine perfections, upon everything that is capable of them, and according to its capacity to receive them.--William Law

Thursday, October 16, 2008

"And Jesus said, "For judgment I am come into this world that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blind." John 9:39

The man blind from birth, having his sight restored by Jesus is one of the seven miracles recorded by John, and for our particular attention also. After the miracle Jesus spoke of the reason why He came. He said “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind.”

The Pharisees response was “Are we blind, also?” Jesus replied, “If you were blind you should have no sin: but now you say, ‘We see,’ therefore your sin remaineth.” The Lord was telling them by healing the blind man that they were blind and could not see the truth. He came to open our spiritual eyes that we might see what we could not see.

Man is born blind to spiritual realities and its going to take a miracle of New Birth to have their eyes opened.

The second thing Jesus was saying is that those who see might be made blind. Isaiah 42:19, when talking about Jesus in the Servant Songs, says, “Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf as My messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect and blind as the Lord’s servant?”

His eyes were blind to so much of what the natural man sees. Jesus says we have to be blinded, too. So much of what we see is troubling us, when the eyes of our heart need to be blinded to these things. Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” The Lord blind us to those things we see, that we might see what we cannot see.

Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians in the last chapter, verse 18, is similar, “that the eyes of your understanding may be opened, that you may know” . God open our eyes and blind them, also.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Pick up the key of obedience. Go on, pick it up. What are you waiting for, really? Why not take it right now? You can do that if you're living by the light of a confident trusting in God. You don't have to walk in blindness and bitter cold today. All you have to do is cling instead to obedience with a burning love that God will give you. It will make you warm, and its warmth is thebest heat. - Catherine of Siena, "Dialogue"

Saturday, October 11, 2008

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. (John 15:1-9)

Friday, October 10, 2008

"And while he lingered the man laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him; and they brought him forth, and set him without the city." Genesis 19:16

As staggering as it appears, Lot, during his encounter with the angels of the Lord before they destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, procrastinated about leaving. Having been forewarned by them that the city was to be destroyed, he lingered. The angels had to forcibly remove him and his family.

Notice from the verse that the angels laid hold of his hand, his wife and children. Not only did Lot linger, but because of Lot’s lingering they did the same. Boy, do we have something to answer for, regarding our families! How often the head of the family produces in his wife and children the same response as his own.

So often when God sends warnings to His people we are oblivious to the urgency of the situation. A very dramatic event was about to unfold. The destruction of so many people and all they owned was about to take place. Yet, seemingly, no one is taking this seriously enough.

Lingering sometimes is connected with the fact that we still want our own way in things. Self is hanging on tenaciously, stubbornly. In the things of God it is better to obey God immediately. Any delays will have reasons attached to why you should not do what God wants. Thankfully, God in His mercy, showed mercy by taking them all by the hand, as this verse reveals.

Is there anything in our lives today that we are lingering over? The consequences could be disastrous if we do not follow God’s leadings. Lot’s wife did not heed the angels word to not look behind, and was turned into a pillar of salt. When God does not want us to see but to believe, it behooves us to believe. Had the lingering produced this final result? Only God knows. The day is fast closing, linger no more, escape for thy life and do what He says.

Monday, October 06, 2008

"If I profess, with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle fields besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point." - Martin Luther

photograph taken in Kalinin, formerly USSR, around 1986now the city of Tver in Russia

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” (John 12:27-29)

Was that thunder or the Voice of God?

What is the difference between those whoclearly and accurately hear the voice ofGod and those who can't quite make it out?

Are you one of those who hears God like thunderin the distance or one who hears His Voice clearly?

Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice" (John10:27). If we are born of God and belong to Christthen He promises us that we will be able to hear Him. Throughout the Scriptureswe are enjoined to "hear the Word of theLord" (Deut. 4:10. 6:4). Does this mean just to actually be able to hear it with our ears? No, it means to hear and receive, to hear withthe sense of obeying, to hear and giveheart to.

There are many cliches in our society withregard to hearing: "We hear what we want tohear" is indeed true. We hear what is ofinterest to us. Our ears "perk up" when we hear something we want to hear. Anyonewho has a dog knows that they know certainwords that have great interest to them:"walk" "ball" "biscuit" and, the wordof words, "Greenie". They may appear asleep and yet their ears will "perk up" when they hear them. All other words may be indistinguishable but those words that they want to hear are clearlyunderstood.

There is the childish way of putting yourfingers in your ears and saying loudly,"Lalalala, I can't hear you." Listeningto God starts with loving His voice. Those who hear God really want to hear God.Those who hear God are of the same Spiritas He is.

In John's gospel, chapter 12, Jesus predictshis death. He pledges obedience to God andsays, "Father, glorify Thy Name" (John 12:28).A Voice replies from heaven saying, "I haveboth glorified it and will glorify it." Thepeople who stood nearby heard it and said,"it thundered." Others said an angel spoketo Him. Jesus tells the crowd that the voice that spoke was not for His sakefor He already heard God speaking quietlyin His heart. The voice was given so thatothers might know what God's point of viewwas. Notice some heard it, and some heardjust the loud rumbling of thunder.

How is it that some are able to hear God'svoice and others only hear the indistinct rumble of thunder?

The days ahead, even now, demand that wehear our Lord's Voice clearly and take headto His Words. What will help us listen?What will help us hear?

We must be people who seek after God inSpirit and in truth (John 4:23). We must be people of the Word so that we are able to discernHis voice from the voice of all others.

The trouble with thunder is that it givesan indistinct sound. If we do not take care and cultivate our ability to listento God, we will hear the voice of God asthunder. The trouble with that is that itis easy to project a translation of whatthat thunder is saying. We can hear thatGod is saying something, but we can't quitehear what it is. So we speculate or guess,or put words in God's mouth. "It soundslike He's saying...." This can quicklydegenerate in hearing what we want to hearand not what He is saying. This quicklybrings us to delusion and a strong lie.

When Elijah encountered God it is writtenthat a strong wind tore into the mountains,and then an earthquake, and then a fire, butthe Lord was not in any of these but in astill, small Voice (I Kings 19:11-12).

But even hearing the God as a still, smallvoice is not proof that we are hearing God.Many voices have gone out into the world. We must know God's character. We must knowwho the Spirit of Truth is like. The morewe live and walk in the truth the more ourspirit will resonate with God's Spirit, andthe clearer His voice will be to us.

Jesus told us that he hid the wisdom ofGod from the wise but revealed it to babes(John 11:25)-those who would simply trust Him and walk in what was revealed. He said that he shares what will happen with His friends(John 15:15).

This is a simple but profound truth. We canhear God the minute we are born of God, butthat hearing is refined over a lifetime oflistening. And it is not just a passive listening, or a listening out of idle curiosity, but a listening that has the intentto obey and to come into submission to.

God does not favor some with His voice andlet thunder speak to the rest. It is we thatmust fine tune our listening. It is we thatmust immerse ourselves in His word. It is wethat must cast aside every hindrance andtear down everything that blocks our hearing.Hearing is much more an attitude of theheart than it is a physical ability.

We must cultivate our delight in hearingGod for his words are sweet and bring life.We can see God as harsh and speaking difficultwords, and if we do, we do not know Him andour ignorance will soon block our desireto be with Him, assuming Him to be SomeoneHe is not. Jeremiah speaks to deafenedIsrael: "To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto thema reproach; they have no delight in it."(Jeremiah 6:9-11)

Delight yourself in hearing God and you willcome to hear Him clearly. He is Love itself. He is Mercy and Goodness, and Life. Hear, O Israel.

"Who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." I Peter 1:5

Legend has it that the apostle Peter lived all his life in the power of God from Pentecost to his death. That in and of itself is remarkable. For many of us the Christian life is up one minute and down the next. Peter’s shadow in the early days would fall on someone and they would be healed. Peter continued to walk in the power of God until the end.

Our opening verse is a key to this incredible ability to stay in the right place with God, and in a place of power. The apostles were men of power. God began everything in power and intends it to continue in power. They were kept by the power of God throughout. Believing keeps us in the power of God. This was Peter’s secret. What a wonder! This word “kept” in Greek means “a military garrison, to post spies at the gate, to mount guard as a sentinel.”

John, in his first Epistle (5:18) says, “Whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth Him not.” Another Greek word is used here meaning “to prevent escaping, to guard from loss or injury by keeping your eye upon.”

Being begotten of God is the saint’s regenerative power, enabling himself to keep himself, and in turn, God keeping him. The very power of regeneration has within it the power to separate the saint from sin, and the wicked one, and by virtue of God’s power, he cannot touch us. The wicked one not touching us is in the context of luring us back into sin and the old habits and ways of the world. Regeneration has cut the head off that enemy which dwelled in our hearts and renders him unable to touch us, providing we walk and abide in Him and His power. He is keeping us, praise Him; it now behooves us to keep ourselves for His glory.